


Somewhere down the line

by Lilypipo



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Sam Wilson, Pre-Relationship, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 12:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16660927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilypipo/pseuds/Lilypipo
Summary: Sam and Steve find the Winter Soldier trapped in a vice. Steve is determined to save him, though Sam is not sure the Winter Soldier can be saved. However, when he sees how much Steve loves him, Sam thinks Bucky should get this chance.--POV Sam Wilson. Written before CA:CW came out.





	Somewhere down the line

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story before CA:CW came out, but after the picture was released with Bucky's arm in a vice (as Sebastian Stan called in an interview I read). I just rolled from there - added in some details based on CA:CW as more became known (who was on which team, etc). So it does not follow the movie in any way. Found this fic again recently on my hard drive and decided to upload it even if canon has moved beyond it.

“Sam.” Steve’s voice cracked over the earpiece. Something in this tone was off, and Sam immediately started running towards where he’d last seen Steve, on the other side of the warehouse. 

All he was greeted with was Steve’s retreating back, as Captain America himself was also running towards something in the distance. Sam upped his pace even more, and looked beyond Steve to see what had drawn his attention. It wasn’t until he saw light reflecting off shiny metal that Sam faltered in his stride, and nearly came to a halt. 

“Steve, stop!” Sam hated having to do this, but their previous encounters with the Winter Soldier had not ended well. In Vancouver, Steve had his ankle broken in three places, and in Mombasa Steve had been knocked unconscious for three days. He had been really grateful for the serum in his friend’s body – a normal person would have been dead by now. Anyhow, there was enough reason for him to shout at Steve to stop, but instead Steve just kept running towards the Winter Soldier – towards danger. 

But then Sam looked a little closer. The Winter Soldier was not standing up as he thought at first glance – instead, he was holding his arm in an awkward angle up, which was why the glint from his arm came from the high position. Sam started running again: if the Winter Soldier was not moving for this threat, it could only mean one of two things. Either he was preparing his sniper rifle, but if that was the case they’d already be dead. The other possibility was that he was injured, or worse. 

Sam picked up his pace again, running after Steve. When he was close enough that he could see details of the captured Winter Soldier, he halted and approached with a bit more caution. Even trapped, the Winter Soldier could take him out in a heartbeat. By the time he was within fighting distance however, it was clear to Sam the Winter Soldier was not really aware and he moved closer. 

Sam wanted to shoo Steve away – he had no doubt this would be traumatising for the super soldier, for all that he claimed to understand the Winter Soldier was not Bucky Barnes, he combed to globe with too much vigour for Sam to believe him – but he was too slow. Steve had skidded to a halt, hovering near the Winter Soldier’s form but without touching him, looking unsure for the first time since Sam met him at the VA. 

Sam would later conclude that Steve never seemed frightened with death when it concerned his own – which was quite disturbing – but was just as human and panicky as any other person when confronted with the possibility of someone he loved being hurt. And there was no doubt in Sam’s mind that Steve loved Bucky – even if the man trapped opposite him wasn’t the man he had known.

“B-Bucky? He's hurt! Sam, help! Help him!” Steve called. Sam knew Steve refused to call him the Winter Soldier, even if the man was not Bucky anymore. 

Sam snapped into action, years of para-rescue training kicking in. He stepped even closer to the Winter Soldier, ignoring his own mind shouting at him not to. From this close he could hear the Winter Soldier’s breathing, though the man did not look up or react in any other way to Sam’s sudden closeness. 

“He’s alive.” He spoke loudly, trying to snap Steve out of his oncoming shock. “But something’s not right, Steve.” It was hard to see beneath all those layers of clothing and Kevlar if and where the man was injured. Sam feared it were severe injuries, to have spaced the Winter Soldier out. 

“He needs to get to a hospital, Sam. We have to call for back-up.” Steve’s voice was urgent. 

“He needs professional medical attention, yeah, but you know he can’t go to a hospital, Steve.” Sam said. No doubt the Soldier would not take kindly to coming to in a hospital, where they would certainly chain him to the bed. It could lead to a dangerous situation for all people involved.

“We can take him to Helen Cho, please, Sam...” Steve pleaded. Sam thought on this. At least with Helen, there was a chance the Winter Soldier would not end up in chains and that he could be restrained. Reluctantly, he nodded. 

Sam moved to study the device that trapped the Winter Soldier. It looked scary and like his metal arm was really stuck. Yet somehow he doubted it was magnetic, but perhaps more something from within the arm that had attached to the device. This would require someone with technical experience, but with the Accords Tony was not an option. “First, we have to get him out of this.”

“It’s not safe for me to start pulling – I could hurt him further.” Steve said, looking desperate. His voice, normally a calm and deep timbre, was unsteady. 

Sam wanted to assure Steve that the – unconscious? unaware? – man would be fine, but knew he could not. He did not know if everything would be alright. The Winter Soldier looked terribly pale, and still, and out of it. Instead, he just said: “I know a guy.”

Sam walked a good distance away to make transport arrangements, not wanting to risk the Winter Soldier overhearing somehow. After calling Clint, and instructing him where to find Scott, Sam walked back to Steve. “Clint, Wanda and Scott will be here with the Quinjet in an hour.” 

Steve nodded in acknowledgement but did not comment further. Sam reached out to those three specifically: besides Steve himself, there were no people Sam trusted in this situation, though he was only acquainted with Scott recently.

He felt for his friend, knowing this was traumatizing for him – years of VA training screaming at him to do something. But he wasn’t sure what to say to help. He therefore moved closer to the trapped man, again checking his pulse. The Winter Soldier still didn’t look like he was aware of what was going on in his surroundings, though his eyes are open. In any case, he gave no response to the clinical touches – something Sam didn’t want to think about for too long. He was careful not touch the other man any more than necessary. Sam was pretty sure a further gesture would not be appreciated. From all the research Sam had done, it was clear that he had had enough people touch him without his permission to last several lifetimes. 

“What do you think happened?” Sam muttered quietly. Steve shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. 

Sam was thinking - who could hurt the Winter Soldier this badly? Instantly, he was on his guard. What if they were still around? He had been so preoccupied earlier, he hadn’t even thought to check the surroundings. Steve evidently had drawn the same conclusion, and he too glanced around and up suspiciously. 

“I’m going to take a look around. Why don’t you stay with him?” Sam spoke softly, his voice kind. It was phrased as a question, but they both knew there was no way Steve was letting the man out of his sight. Steve nodded, and Sam turned to leave. Before he’s moved out of earshot, he heard Steve speak softly to the man.

“Hold on, just hold on Bucky. Help is coming. You’ll get to a hospital very soon. You are free, I promise nobody will ever hold you against your will again. But please know I am here for you. I don’t care if you’re not Bucky, I don’t care what you did as the Winter Soldier. This time I won’t let you fall… So just hold on a little longer…”

During his walk, Sam took the time to think the whole situation over. If he is very honest with himself, Sam did not know how to feel about finding the Winter Soldier, and especially not about finding him injured and unresponsive. During their year of search after the fight with Ultron, Steve, Sam, and various other Avengers had run ins with the Winter Soldier, but those were always brief and rather violent. 

The Winter Soldier had always run after taking them out, and was unwilling to listen to Steve’s shouted pleas. During their previous encounters Steve had tried to reason with him, but he had not shown any recognition. Steve had argued with him about it a lot, and though he did not have proof, Steve was sure ‘Bucky’ had pulled him out of the Potomac, stating that it couldn’t have been anyone else.

It was clear that it was hard on Steve every time the Soldier left without another glance backwards. Yet Sam feared it would be some much harder on Steve when the Soldier was in one room with him, and he will have time to explain that he doesn’t know Steve, and that he no longer is and never will be Bucky Barnes again. He sighed, feeling the helplessness creep up on him.

He made a large circle around the place where the Winter Soldier was trapped, but saw nothing that indicated the presence of another person, let alone a hostile force. After an hour, he returned to Steve and the Soldier. It seems the condition of the Soldier had not changed in the last hour, for better or for worse, but Steve’s mood has gotten much sadder. 

“Clint radioed me,” Steve spoke up when Sam approached him, “he will bring medical supplies, and Dr. Cho has everything prepared for whatever comes up.” It was unclear if he directed his words to Sam, or if he spoke to the man whose arm was still trapped. Sam thought it might be both. 

At that moment, the sky blasted awake with noise, and the Quinjet landed a few meters away from the open doors of the warehouse. Sam was pleased to see Wanda walking out and into the warehouse, while Clint and Scott linger at the edge of the plane. Clearly, Clint was weary of the Winter Soldier, and has told Scott to stay back. Sam couldn’t really blame him. 

“Steve, Sam.” Wanda greeted, walking towards them and keeping her focus on the nearly unconscious man. 

“James Barnes appears to be stable.” Wanda says after she has studied the unaware man for a few moments. It was impossible to miss the visible release of tension from Steve’s shoulders. “But I would recommend immediate medical attention. A more detailed brain scan is recommended.”

That snapped Sam into action once more. He radioed the Quinjet. “Scott, could you and Wanda get him out of whatever this thing is? Wanda, we are probably going to need a stretcher. Could you please…?” 

Hearing his name being called, Scott walked over, while within moments a stretcher floated from the Quinjet, being carried by a glowing red light. 

“Wow, Captain America. Awesome.” Sam did his best not to laugh as Scott stammered his way through his introduction, but he can tell Steve was barely noticing, still too focussed on the Winter Soldier. Scott noticed, too, but to his credited he just commented, “right, let’s get this show on the road,” and started examining the way the Winter Soldier’s arm was stuck. 

It took Scott and Wanda nearly fifteen minutes to figure out a way to release the Winter Soldier from the device without jostling him. As soon as they managed to free him, he collapsed like a house of cards. 

For once, Sam was grateful Steve was hovering like a mother hen, and was close enough to stop him cracking his head on the floor. Sam thought the man must have been at the end of his rope, and probably it was only his training that kept him from giving in to fatigue and stress while he was trapped. While this is not the ideal way to get him to get some rest, Sam will take what he can get. It also explained him being so unfocussed, which was a relief when considering the alternatives. 

Steve on the other hand, panicked. Again. He started fussing over the man, though he was still careful not to touch him more than necessary. The next few words, however, showed that their relationship had involved touching at some point. 

Steve talked softly to the Winter Soldier – no, that’s not right. To Bucky Barnes.

“Bucky, you’ve gotta hold on, okay. Don’t give up. I will go where ever you are. Together till the end of the line, remember? Don’t leave me, please...”

Sam shared a look with Wanda, Scott and Clint, who clearly also heard. Clint raised an eyebrow, and looked like he wanted to speak, but Sam thought they could deal with this later. He cleared his throat and Steve’s attention turned to him. Sam did his best to keep his voice gentle, but authoritative. “We have to move him on the stretcher now.” 

Steve took a deep breath and nodded. He carefully lifted the unconscious man in his arms, and hoisted him up to the stretcher. They quickly moved to the Quinjet, where Clint was already firing up the engines and took off as soon as they were all safely on board. Scott fell into the seat next to Clint, looking around the cockpit with curious eyes. 

Steve had settled near Bucky by the medical unit. Steve moved him with such tenderness that it was impossible for Sam to think of him as the Winter Soldier any longer – Steve looked at Bucky Barnes like he was willing to move heaven and earth for him. And in that moment, Sam knew that there was no way Steve would ever give up on him. He grinned to himself – he’d better get used to calling the man Bucky Barnes.

Wanda was quietly keeping watch from a distance. Sam slumped down in the seat next to her and closed his eyes. He hoped they get to Helen Cho quickly, if not for Bucky’s sake then for Steve’s. He didn’t think this mess with Tony would get resolved quickly, but he has hope that Captain America could bring this all to a good end so that Steve and Bucky could finally be together again.

**Author's Note:**

> I still haven't gotten over the fact that Sam and Bucky don't get along - why?!? - so I pretend that Sam is much nicer to Bucky, who is a traumatized vet, even if he is weary of the Winter Soldier. Also, Stucky: yes!


End file.
